Random Walk
Wall of Sound
Over 50 members of the Caltech Jazz Bands and the Caltech-Occidental Concert Band brought the sound of music to the Great Wall of China in March. Positioned in front of a fort on a portion of the wall near Beijing, the group played a concert featuring two new pieces written specifically for the occasion. One of the world premieres was written by Caltech alumnus Leslie Deutsch (BS ’76, MS ’77, PhD ’80), chief technologist for the Interplanetary Network Directorate at JPL; the other was written by his son, Elliot, a jazz bandleader, composer, and trumpeter. The featured vocal soloist, Kjerstin Williams (BS ’00, MS ’02, PhD ’06), lent her voice to the jazz tunes. The group also joined fellow musicians from Tsinghua University for a joint concert in Beijing. —KN
“Playing on and climbing the Great Wall was definitely a highlight of the trip. It will be something that I will be able to talk about for decades after I graduate from Caltech, since it will always stand out from the everyday life of a Techer,” said freshman clarinetist Hima Hassenruck-Gudipati.
